Waaay funny. I've seen this guy's picture juxtaposed with a potato shaped like male junk (the genetically engineered "Dantonio Potato") but I wasn't aware that he had ascended to the apex of the d-bag masses. This is great news for him.

How? Was it his ignoring of the 2010 Dorm Beatdown? Letting Rucker play after getting his personals back from the prison on the same day? Was it because they were blessed with a soft schedule and took opportunity of it? If they were that great I would think they would be in a BCS game.

their SOS was one of, if not the, strongest in the Big Ten. they were a team of good players who excelled and played exceptional. they beat Wisconsin and went 11-1 when most would say they were dark horse at best pre-season. he got named coach of the year, not the second coming. jeez.

Wisconsin (only win over a now ranked team that hadn't hit their 5th gear yet)

Illinois

Iowa (nosedive)

Northwestern (had to come back to win)

Michigan (err)

Minnehaha

Pudue (almost lost)

PSU

I'm not saying it is the second coming, I just don't see how having that schedule and as a coach, letting all that off field crap go on justifies him COtY. Winning is good. But I also think off the field development is a indicator of a good coach as well.

My glasses are off. They had a good season, no doubt. But don't you think the National Coach of the Year should honor the coach that got it done and how he got it done.

He made some very questionable decisions with his roster and punishment for transgressions.

If we went 11-1 and RR was up for the coach of the year, but let a player play the game after he spent 8 days in jail (or whatever it was) I would not want him winning anything of the sort. I would also want him held somehow accountable for that decision.

No coach who made a decision like that deserves to be honored for their excellent season with a distinction like this.

It's college football. No one cares as long as you're winning right now. Cam Newton shouldn't be playing football, but hey, he plays real nice like and we definitely need to take away some more USC records.

I didn't agree with how the Rucker thing was handled, but he was suspended for 1 game before he ever went to jail (not prison), and missed another game while in jail.

As for the soft schedule... they did miss OSU, but they faced 8 bowl teams (Wisconsin only faced 6, and OSU only faced 5), had a better SOS than any of the other Co-BT Champions, and were the only team to beat Wisconsin.

They're not in the BCS because the system is dumb: a) it doesn't allow more than 2 teams from one conference to go (and a bowl will always choose OSU and the $$$ before MSU), and b) awards the awful Big East and ACC conferences with an auto-bid.

for the same reason they did not go in 1999. They had a couple nice wins, but their loss was a disaster (like their 2 loses in 99). If Sparty wants to get more respect than they should not lose games by 30. Sparty also had to know by week 8 or 9 that getting into the BCS was going to be a beauty pageant, so they immediately went out and played like total garbage against Purdue.

and that arguments against him aren't really more than partisan swings. he might have made some crappy personnel decisions (on which i was extremely vocal on this board) but he's deserving on the basis of on-field performance.

You can turn around and make that statement about any team really: if Alabama had played to their potential they would be in the national title game; if Boise State had played to their potential, they wouldn't be playing in a Bowl on December 23rd; if OSU played to their potential, they would be undefeated; heck if Iowa played to their potential, they would be in a BCS game;

Most wins for a MSU football team in a single season ever, gutsy play call vs. rival Notre Dame that wins game on national TV in dramatic fashion, mid-season health scare, beat cross-strate rival Michigan a record 3rd straight years - twice decisively, beat the Big Ten's best team Wisconsin, and didn't have to face Ohio State.

I think the stars aligned really well for Dantonio to win the award.

I don't like him. I think he's a douchebag, endorses negative recruiting tactics, and is a lousy displinarian cloaked in religious dogmatism. But 2010 was probably one of MSU's more glorious football seasons ever.

I just cannot believe that a coach with that many arrests on a team can be in line for anything other than a Fulmer Award. There were many coaches that had winning records and players not filling up a police blotter. I understand MSU can't afford to actually suspend players, winning is that important for the program, but to see a coach rewarded for that is just crazy.

I know that online message boards aren't the place to let facts get in the way of a good rant, but Chris L. Rucker was suspended for 1 game, and missed another one while in jail. Also, the crime was a OWI which got reduced to reckless driving.

Dion Sims wasn't allowed to play this season, despite him not being arrested or anything yet.

Give at least some credit. MSU had a good year. Remember also that Dantonio suffered a heart attack during the season, iirc. And I don't think Tressel deserves it, and really dislike Bielema a lot more than I do Dantonio.

Regardless, I look forward to next year, and Michigan returning to prominence and dominance of little brother.

“Top to bottom Michigan is about excellence, greatness. You have my pledge I will carry forward the excellence of Michigan football." Jim Harbaugh, December 30, 2014

OSU went 11-1 and no one blinked because that's what they're supposed to do but 11-1 at MSU is a huge deal. So I can certainly see why Mark Dantonio won (and perhaps even deserved?!) the award.

What I think is crazy is how the expectations have been so low in the first place. To the point that 11-1 is the greatest thing that MSU fans have ever experienced. Think about it, they're a big state school, they have a rabid fan base, tons of alumni, more than enough money to spend on athletics as compared to many top programs, a large stadium, membership in a top football conference and so much more.

How, then, have they managed to be so aggressively mediocre for so long that one 11-1 season has gotten them more attention than they did in the past 10 years combined and ultimately resulted in MD being awarded COY.

Because I had gene chizik, come on. Two years ago the guy was 5-7 at iowa state, he took over a 5-7 auburn team, and now the coach that no one wanted has his team playing for their first BCS national title.

I have no problem if the choice is based strictly from on-the-field performance. IIRC, the only MSU coach to have a season like this one in the last thirty years was Nick Saban. I do, though, have a major problem with him being "the king of second chances." It just seems to be that by welcoming convicted, violent criminals back onto his team, he is at best enabling and at worst encouraging a criminal subculture at MSU.

Dantonio's policy regarding criminal behavior seems to run counter to any mandate to help develop his players as young men. Part of that development is holding people responsible for their actions by providing negative consequences for negative actions. Dantonio had a chance to make a statement for his program this season. Sadly, the only statement he made was that, at Michigan State University, if you can play ball, it doesn't matter what you do off the field.

To me, that does not qualify as "coach of the year," unless it is in a penal system league.

What the fuck do you know about what Michigan stands for? RR may not find success here, but you'll find few coaches who are as dedicated to his players. BTW, it's ironic you call him lil bro when you're the one trolling on a UM blog.